• still sore from our first softball game on friday. i discovered i can hit the ball pretty well, but i stink at outfield. so much fun though!
• i think i'm overdue for some new running shoes. i haven't been keep tracking of my miles this year.
• ran a good 10 miler on saturday. it was the perfect running day!
• loved watching bryce pitch last night, and it was great to have steve's parents there.
• i skipped my run yesterday because it was 95 here. 
• i made up for it this morning with a 4 mile tempo run.
• i think the flowers i planted on the deck just a couple days ago are already dying. boo!
• the tomato plant is looking good though.
• just found this picture the other day... steve and i with our best friends john and jenny at an amusement park. i think i was 16 or 17 here. steve and i were just friends at the time, and had no idea we'd be married someday!
                              

yay! the basement bedroom is finished! it has been a big job. we had water in the basement last summer and had to replace the carpet, baseboards, and repaint. steve also built this closet, since there wasn't one. i love how it turned out!

we used carpet tiles for this room. they are super easy to install and i think they look really good.

                                     

today we are installing a sump pump and starting to work on the rest of the basement.
hoping to get 10 miles in today.

week 8

training week 8 of 12 for the 1/2 is here. this week calls for 5, 3, 5, 10. i ran a nice 3 today, under beautiful sunny skies.
i've been running 8 miles for my long run for the last two weeks. overall, i've felt pretty good. i'm a little nervous because i've still been doing the run a mile/walk a minute method, and i've never done that in a race. i can't imagine walking after a mile. it just seems like it would be weird. i've seen people do it before, and i usually end up thinking, "she must be injured if she's walking after the first mile." i guess it just comes down to doing what works best for you, and not worrying about anyone else. all of that to say, i don't know how i will run it. if i'm just going to run all of it like normal, or if i will experiment with this method in a race.

in other news, i'm busy planning a rapunzel party for meg.

found a cute dress for her on etsy!
still need to figure out what to do for the cake...
the bedroom in our basement is finally finished. looks good. (i'll post pictures soon).
it took longer than expected because we ended up replacing all the baseboards.

it's baseball season. there will be a lot of games. the games are long and pretty cold right now, but i'm (we're) glad to be there to cheer him on. i know how much it means to have your parents there. i remember the feeling of hoping my parents would come to my track or cross-country meets, only to have them not show up. i'm so thankful that is not something my kids have to go through.

i love lists like this, and thought this might be of interest to some of you.
here are some books we have enjoyed this year: (some were read-alouds, and some were ones they read)

we've done quite a few reading comprehension tests this year. they are pretty easy to find online for most books.

1. little house in the big woods
2. little house chapter books (Bre read all of these - most are around 70 pages)
3. sarah, plain and tall
4. the courage of sarah noble
5. muggie maggie
6. pippy longstocking
7. george washington
8. breyer stablemates - patch
9. breyer stablemates - starlight
10. breyer stablemates - stormy
11. the seven treasure hunts
12. the littles
13. the box car children (the first 4)
14. the terrible trins
15. life in the great ice age
16. the great dinosaur mystery & the bible
17. one small square - cactus desert
18. one small square - artic tundra
19. one small square - coral reef
20. amelia bedila goes camping
21. amelia bedila, teach us!
22. noah's ark noah's flood
23. meet thomas jefferson
24. blaze books by c.w. anderson
25. ramona the brave
26. absolutely lucy
27. the littles and their amazing new friend
28. pioneer daughter's: hannah's winter of hope
29. hank the cowdog: every dog has his day
30. janette oke's animal books (there are several of these)
31. who was ronald reagan?
32. several magic treehouse books (i don't think all of these are good, but we have enjoyed the early ones and some of the research books that go with them)

we're getting ready to start on betsy tacy stories.

 wow! things have really changed...

After several woman collapsed upon completing the 800 meter dash at the 1928 Olympics, the powers that be in the world of running decided that women lack the constitution to run long distances.  Running was thought to be not only unladylike, but dangerous for ladies. Women were barred from racing distances of more than 200 meters.

In 1967, Kathrine Switzer, a 20 year old college student, registered to run the Boston Marathon under the name “K. V. Switzer.”  When race officials discovered that K. V. was a woman, the race had already started.  This picture shows perfectly-named Boston Marathon official Jock Semple attempting to physically remove Switzer from the event, reportedly shouting, “Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!”  Switzer’s college athlete boyfriend body-checked the race official and the pair continued running.
She successfully completed the race in 4 hours and 20 minutes, and seven years later won the New York City Marathon with a time of under 3:08.

8

week 5 of my 1/2 marathon training done.
i missed a 3 miler this week. no time.
i did my long run on sunday, since saturday was so cold and blustery here.
it was 47 and sunny. long sleeve shirt and shorts for this run. not too bad.
i've been sticking with the run a mile/walk a minute method.
it has been working pretty well.


finally ordered my picture book for 2010 (they're on sale for mother's day right now). that's my idea of scrapbooking - so easy! this is my 3rd year doing it, and i love them!